ordinationhttp://www.livingchurch.org/taxonomy/term/1164/all
enThe Five-Tool Priesthttp://www.livingchurch.org/five-tool-priest
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>By Daniel H. Martins</p>
<p>Among baseball scouts and executives, the classic metric by which the value of a player is judged is what has become known as the “five tools”: hit, hit for power, run, throw, field. A player who excels in all five is exceptionally rare, and is highly sought-after. These abilities may not be displayed fully in a young player on the cusp of his professional career. But experienced scouts have at least spotted their potential, and coaches are working hard on creating the conditions under which they can develop and flourish.</p>
<p>Analogies are never perfect, but, as I look back at more than a quarter-century of experience in ordained ministry, nearly four of those years as a bishop, I’ve had ample opportunity to evaluate the gifts and skills of priests, and something akin to the five-tool baseball player suggests itself. As I consider the raw gifts of those in discernment for potential ordination to the priesthood, and as I look at the demonstrated skills of priests while engaging in deployment, there are five core abilities that I hope to spot, whether in the rough, or in a more developed form:</p>
<p><strong>Preside</strong>. A priest is a public person, and needs to have a public presence in liturgy that inspires confidence, that enables a worshiper to relax and let go of any anxiety about whether the event is in capable hands. A priest who is uncomfortable at the altar is like a fish that is uncomfortable in water. This does not mean that the priest attracts attention; quite the contrary, actually — a presiding priest should move and speak in and around the sanctuary with such fluidity and grace that everything about the event becomes a conduit for attention to the One who alone is appropriately the object of such attention. A priest can learn how to be a better presider, but it helps if the innate gift is there to begin with.</p>
<p><strong>Preach</strong>. It is telling that, in the culture around us, “preacher” is often a generic moniker for any member of the clergy. In churches that adhere to ancient liturgical patterns, the sermon is not so much the main event as it is in worshiping communities that have lost touch with that inheritance. Still, even in the context of a Eucharist celebrated according to traditional norms, the sermon is critically important. Preaching, at its best, is very much both a craft and an art. The craft can be taught, practiced, and honed. The art is more mysterious and elusive. Some priests have a homiletical fire in them fully ablaze the day they are ordained. The church does well to recognize the spark that leads to such a fire when it first shows itself, and encourage the one who possesses it to nurture the gift.</p>
<p><strong>Teach</strong>. The charism for teaching is related to the one for preaching, but they are distinct. I have known superb teachers who were mediocre preachers, and excellent preachers who were inadequate teachers. There are moments when it feels to me as though the ministry of teaching is the most underdeveloped of the five tools of priestcraft, but if that is the case, it may well be because it is also the least appreciated. The catechesis gap among Episcopalians (and many other Christians as well) is massive. We desperately need more disciples of Jesus who patiently hunger to be taught, and priest-teachers who are able to articulate the tradition of Scripture, theology, and spirituality in ways that are readily understood.</p>
<p><strong>Lead</strong>. Leadership, like preaching and teaching, can be taught and learned, though innate talent is certainly an occasion of gratitude. A leader need not have exceptional charisma, and need not be particularly outgoing. What is truly critical is that a leader have an extraordinary degree of self-awareness that supports an ability to accurately read people and situations. But leadership instincts are rarely, in themselves, sufficient. Leadership is a science and a craft, and there is an abundance of both theoretical and practical material available to help turn ordinary leaders into exceptional leaders. A priest needs to be able and willing to apply self-awareness to the craft of leadership.</p>
<p><strong>Care</strong>. The priest and author Neal Michell reminds us that people will not “care how much you know until they know how much you care.” A priest is — by definition, if not by actual circumstance — a pastor, and the heart of pastoral care is bringing the power and the glory of the paschal mystery to bear in the lives of real people who both suffer and sin, sometime simultaneously. And most members of the flock of Christ will not be of a mind to make space for a priest to do this sort of work until they have gotten a sense that the priest authentically cares about them and is concerned for their best interests. This is not to say that a priest will never offer words of challenge or admonition, but the leave to do so will probably have already been earned by an established pattern of personal connection. Not everybody who has a big heart will make a good priest. But a likely candidate for becoming a good priest will have shown some evidence of having a big heart.</p>
<p>Even at the Major League level, very few people are true five-tool players. But any who achieve sustained success are probably outstanding in three of the five, and at least marginally adept in the others. Similarly, very few priests excel in all five of presiding, preaching, teaching, leading, and caring. But those who serve the Church by engaging in consistently fruitful ministries are probably exemplary in at least three of the five, and basically competent, if not outstanding, in the others. Those involved in the processes of discernment and deployment will want to be alert for signs of raw giftedness in these areas, that those in positions of authority and influence might help cultivate these gifts — these <em>tools</em> — for the benefit of the whole body of Christ.</p>
<p><em>The Rt. Rev. Daniel H. Martins is Bishop of Springfield and a board member of the Living Church Foundation.</em></p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ordination" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ordination</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/priesthood" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">priesthood</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/pastoral-skills" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">pastoral skills</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories-top field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Categories:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/lead-story" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lead Story</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/essays-reviews" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Essays &amp; Reviews</a></div></div></div>Mon, 22 Dec 2014 14:58:50 +0000Web Editor1860 at http://www.livingchurch.orgSynod: Women May Now Applyhttp://www.livingchurch.org/synod-women-may-now-apply
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Adapted from an Anglican Communion News Service <a href="http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2014/07/church-of-england-says-yes-to-women-bishops.aspx">report</a></p>
<p>Women may become bishops in the Church of England because of a historic vote by General Synod July 14.</p>
<p>Following a day of debate at the General Synod meeting in York on the issue of women in the episcopate, at least two thirds majority of each house — laity, clergy, and bishops — approved the measure:</p>
<table align="right" border="2" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="width:250px;"><tbody><tr><td>
<p><strong>Across the Communion</strong></p>
<p><strong>Provinces and extra-provincial dioceses in which women serve as bishops</strong> — Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia, Australia, Canada, Cuba (extra-provincial diocese), Southern Africa, Ireland, South India.</p>
<p><strong>Provinces that allow for women bishops but have not elected or appointed any</strong> — Bangladesh, Brazil, Central America, Japan, Mexico, North India, Philippines, Scotland, Sudan, Tanzania, Wales</p>
<p><strong>Provinces that do not consecrate women as bishops</strong> — Burundi, Central Africa, Congo, Hong Kong, Indian Ocean, Jerusalem and the Middle East, Kenya, Korea, Melanesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, South East Asia, Southern Cone, Uganda, West Indies, West Africa</p>
</td>
</tr></tbody></table><ul><li>Bishops: 37 in favor, 2 against, 1 abstention</li>
<li>Clergy: 162 in favor, 25 against, 4 abstentions</li>
<li>Laity: 152 in favor, 45 against, 5 abstentions</li>
</ul><p>The first woman bishop could be appointed by the end of the year. The Church of England joins 20 other provinces or extra-provincial dioceses that allow for women bishops.</p>
<p>Before the vote, the Most. Rev. John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, asked synod members to greet the result “with restraint and sensitivity,” but a flurry of cheers arose nonetheless.</p>
<p>The vote comes 18 months after the proposal was last voted upon in November 2012, when the proposal failed to achieve the required two-thirds majority in the House of Laity.</p>
<p>The Most Rev. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, said:</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px;">Today is the completion of what was begun over 20 years with the ordination of women as priests. I am delighted with today’s result. Today marks the start of a great adventure of seeking mutual flourishing while still, in some cases, disagreeing.</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px;">The challenge for us will be for the church to model good disagreement and to continue to demonstrate love for those who disagree on theological grounds. Very few institutions achieve this, but if we manage this we will be living our more fully the call of Jesus Christ to love one another. As delighted as I am for the outcome of this vote, I am also mindful of those within the Church for whom the result will be difficult and a cause of sorrow.</p>
<p style="margin-left: 40px;">My aim, and I believe the aim of the whole church, should be to be able to offer a place of welcome and growth for all. Today is a time of blessing and gift from God and thus of generosity. It is not winner take all, but in love a time for the family to move on together.</p>
<p>The legislation includes a House of Bishops declaration, underpinned by five guiding principles and a disputes resolution procedure. Following the vote on the measure that enables women to become bishops, the synod voted on enabling legislation (canon) and rescinded existing legislation (act of synod) as part of a package of measures being proposed.</p>
<p>The measure now moves to the Legislative Committee of General Synod and then to the Ecclesiastical Committee of the Houses of Parliament, in which the legislation will be considered. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the measure will return to the General Synod in November, when it will come into force after its promulgation (legal formal announcement).</p>
<p>The vote follows a process that began at the 2013 July Synod, which created a steering committee on women bishops, led by the Bishop of Rochester, James Langstaff, with a mandate to draw up a package of new proposals. Bishop Langstaff opened the debate on behalf of the steering committee and urged synod members to vote for the proposals.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/news-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">news</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/episcopate" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">episcopate</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/consecration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">consecration</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ordination" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ordination</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories-top field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Categories:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/lead-story" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lead Story</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/news" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News</a></div></div></div>Mon, 14 Jul 2014 17:05:46 +0000Web Editor1522 at http://www.livingchurch.orgKeeping it Realhttp://www.livingchurch.org/keeping-it-real
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><span style="line-height: 1.538em;">By John Kenneth Gibson</span></p>
<p>I made the sign of the cross while holding a cup of green tea in my hand as the Presiding Bishop intoned: “Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” I was curled up in bed with my laptop, watching the June 15 webcast from Duke Chapel of the consecration of Anne Hodges-Copple as Bishop Suffragan of North Carolina. This was the first time I had watched a liturgical service through the web.</p>
<p>I had planned to attend, but those plans changed when my wife and I agreed to help my stepson move to Birmingham, Alabama. They changed again when he announced early in the week of the consecration that he was leaving Wednesday instead of Saturday. Since I had to prepare for our pilgrimage to Greece, “In the Footsteps of St. Paul,” I decided to follow the webcast.</p>
<p>Having attended two consecrations in the chapel, I knew immediately that the web gave me a better view. I easily picked out my clergy friends as they walked down the center aisle, hugging and waving to people they knew in the congregation. I saw Anne, vested in her alb, smile when she walked through the great entrance portal into the nave. Each jewel in Lauren Winner’s signature cat-eyeglasses sparkled as she delivered the sermon.</p>
<p>Though the webcast gave a better view, I had a hard time engaging in the service. My big black cat, Donovan, jumped on my chest shortly after the liturgy began, blocking my view. Once I had pushed him aside, my wife walked into the room, leaned in front of me to look at the screen and asked, “What’s happening?” External distractions were, however, the least challenging.</p>
<p>I was my own worst enemy. I tried to participate. I bowed my head and closed my eyes during the collect for purity. I listened attentively to the readings appointed for the feast day of Evelyn Underhill. I applauded with the congregation after Anne was consecrated. But way before that moment, my attention had wandered.</p>
<p>I decided during a hymn to check Facebook and my email. One message was from a Yoga teacher about the benefits of spirulina in smoothies. Since I did not know anything about spirulina and I drink a smoothie every morning for breakfast, I checked it out. The next thing I knew I had four tabs open about the blue-green algae. After Anne, arrayed in her luminous white mitre and chasuble with rainbow-hued images of water, grain, grapes, and wind, beautifully chanted the Sursum Corda, I turned the computer off and returned to my trip preparations. I knew what happened next in the service and I could not receive the Eucharist through my laptop.</p>
<p>My experience watching the webcast was not unique. People dart faster than hummingbirds from webpage to webpage. Fewer than 50 percent of people watch more than one minute of an online video. The average viewing of the consecration was 50 minutes, an eternity on the web.</p>
<p>Any worship experience today, virtually or in person, contends with the digiverse. On a recent Sunday sitting in the congregation, my wife castigated me for pulling out my smart phone during the announcements. But I was never tempted to check email during any other part of the liturgy, because worship is not a spectator event but participatory. A central tenet of the liturgical renewal movement emphasized the work of the people.</p>
<p>In the Eucharist, according to the Rite I prayer, we offer God “ourselves, our souls and bodies.” We stand, sit, kneel, touch, taste, and, perhaps rarely these days, if there is incense, breathe in the scent of worship. While the webcast gave me a sense of the thunderous <em>Amens</em> and the frisson of Taizé’s <em>Veni Sancte Spiritus</em>, it could not provide the handshake of my sisters and brothers during the peace or the risen Lord in the body and blood.</p>
<p>However limited, the reality is that more people experienced Bishop Hodges-Copple’s consecration virtually than in person. During the event, according to Fred Westbrook for Duke Chapel Media Ministry, 260 IP addresses accessed the service. This number translates to more than 260 people since it included groups. Approximately 25 people watched together at Croasdaile Village, a retirement community in Durham, where Anne has celebrated the Eucharist monthly and performed many funerals. In the first three days after the consecration, another 1,100 IP addresses accessed the ordination service at YouTube. An estimated 2,000 people had watched the live stream and archived YouTube video by 5 p.m. June 18, compared to 1,400 who attended in person. Duke Chapel could not have accommodated all these people. Moreover, many who saw the webcast could not have attended because of illness or for other reasons.</p>
<p>Simply watching something online can be a moving, spiritual experience. The availability of lyrics and music for hymns, and the texts of prayers and readings, would offer a more participative worship experience for those seeking it. Websites such as the Mission of St. Clare already offer these for Morning and Evening Prayer. Washington National Cathedral’s 2011 webcast of the Ninth Bishop of Washington’s consecration provided a PDF of the service leaflet. Beyond these offerings, perhaps the reserved sacrament, or even concelebration (in an Eastern Orthodox understanding), could create a full worship experience for groups such as the one at Croasdaile.</p>
<p>With more and more dioceses and parishes webcasting their liturgies, thoughtful Christians in our entertainment-saturated society should find ways to protect worship as praise of the Living God.</p>
<p><em>Image: The Rt. Rev. Anne Elliott Hodges-Copple offers the blessing at her ordination and consecration June 15 at the historic Duke University Chapel in Durham. </em><em>Richard Schori/ENS</em></p>
<p><em>The Rev. John Kenneth Gibson has served as a priest of the Diocese of North Carolina for more than 20 years.</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/opinion" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">opinion</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/first-person" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">first person</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ordination" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ordination</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/consecration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">consecration</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bishop-anne-hodges-copple" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Bishop Anne Hodges-Copple</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/diocese-north-carolina-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Diocese North Carolina</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-categories-top field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Categories:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/lead-story" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lead Story</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/essays-reviews" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Essays &amp; Reviews</a></div></div></div>Tue, 25 Jun 2013 12:49:18 +0000Web Editor994 at http://www.livingchurch.org